Weekly Division leaders for NCAA Wrestling Awards released

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA has released the updated standings for the 2014 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler Awards, in addition to standings for the most falls and tech falls within Divisions I, II and III. These awards will be presented in March at the respective NCAA Wrestling Championships. The standings only include matches between wrestlers in the same division.

The 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships return to Oklahoma City March 20-22 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. New ticket options, including hospitality, are still available, visit NCAA.com/Wrestlingto purchase. The Division II and Division III Wrestling Championships are both March 14-15 in Cleveland, Ohio, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, respectively.

The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points awarded per match are as follows:

This week a minimum of 18 matches are required to be eligible for the Most Dominant Wrestler standings. That required match total will increase by one per week until 18 matches is reached. Athletes redshirting the 2014 season are not eligible for any of the award standings.

In the Most Dominant standings, three-time defending national champion Penn State retains the top two spots with 165-pounder David Taylor raising his average to 5.12 points and 184-pounder Edward Ruth increasing his to 4.7083 points. Two-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State (141 pounds) is third with an average of 4.6667 points.

Edwin Cooper of Upper Iowa (149 pounds) moves back into first place in Division II with an average of 4.5556 points, while Dylan D’Urso of Mercyhurst (141 pounds) is second with an average of 4.3889 points. The early season leader, 125-pounder Alex Johns of Indianapolis, is close behind in third with an average of 4.3684 points.

The all-division lead stays in Division III where 2013 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler and two-time NCAA championNazarKulchytskyyfrom Wisconsin-Oshkosh has a 5.1667 average at 165 pounds. Riley Lefever of Wabash (184 pounds) moves back into second with 4.8621 points and 174-pounder Landon Williams (Wartburg) is third with 4.8571 points.

Nothing has changed at the top of the Division I falls standings asone pin separates Indiana 157-pounder Taylor Walsh and Bucknell heavyweight Joe Stolfiin Division I with 20 and 19. Ohio 165-pounder Harrison Hightower is third with 12 pins.

The top two spots of Division II remain the same from last week as John Austin Jones of King (Tennessee) holdsfirst place with 12 pins at 165 pounds and 197-pounder Zachary Bennett of Pittsburgh-Johnstown is alone in second with 11 pins.

A dominant week in Division III has moved 184-pounder Thomas Reyhons of Augustana (Illinois) to the top with 23 pins. Last week’s leader, Ohio Northern heavyweight Cody Lovejoy, added a pin last week and is second in the division and across all divisions with 21 pins.

Ohio State’s Stieber assumes the tech fall lead in Division I with nine in a combined time of 46:30, while Northern Iowa 133-pounder Joe Colon’s combined time of 51:40 in nine tech falls drops him to second.

The top three positions in Division II stayed static for the third week in a row as Lake Erie 133-pounder Austin Gillihanleads the division with seven. Francis Mizia of Mercyhurst (157 pounds) and William Young of Newberry (141 pounds) follow Gillihan with six tech falls.

The tech fall standings in Division III have Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Shane Siefertholding the all-division lead with 11 on the season, threemore than Springfield 149-pounder Zach Joseph and Wilkes 149-pounder Mark Hartenstinewith eight tech falls.